


Grandpa Nappa

by StrawhatsAndDelibirds



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-21
Updated: 2018-12-20
Packaged: 2019-09-23 22:39:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17089079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StrawhatsAndDelibirds/pseuds/StrawhatsAndDelibirds





	1. Chapter 1

Goten usually was at his house by now. It was Saturday and they were just wasting time like this. There was so much cool stuff that they could be doing. He had better not’ve been stuck doing farm work again. Goku could do it on his own. Making Goten help was just a way that he could go and train sooner.

He’d go over there and argue Goten’s case if he had to, because someone had to stand up to him, and he’d much rather stand up to Goku than Goten’s mom. She might’ve even been scarier than his mom. If his mom was making him study, then he’d know he was a lost cause. If it was Goku then he could probably trick him into doing all the work himself.

Trunks was about to leave, when Goten came flying in. He better not’ve slept in. There was so much good day time wasting away, and they couldn’t always get sleepovers when that happened. They could only ever do that when their grades were good and Goten never did as good as his mom wanted to. And she gave so much less wiggle room now that Goku was back.

“Hey! What’s the big deal. You were supposed to be here ages ago!” Goten being Goten laughed at this. What was he gonna do with this kid?

“Sorry. I got distracted cause my dad was telling me stories about when he was my age. He said that we were way farther ahead of where he was when we were his age, cause he had to use the power pole to get up to the lookout. He couldn’t even go Super Saiyen or fly!” It was weird thinking that they were already ahead of where Goku was. How strong did that mean him and Goten were gonna get? It was a shame that Gohan decided to be a nerd and stuff, cause he’d probably be a good way to measure where they’d be by now.

“I bet my dad was way cooler than your dad when he was little.” Princes probably got to do lots of cool stuff, and he was probably flying and kicking at least twelve different kinds of butt by the time he was Trunks’ age.

“Nu uh!” Goten argued, probably already knowing that his dad was cooler than Goku. “Well if your dad’s so cool, then how come my dad went on all kinds of adventures with your mom when they were little?” Goten asked, before sticking out his tongue.

“Cause my dad was probably in space, being really cool and stuff.” But he had to admit, going on adventures with Goku would probably be more fun. His dad was way too down to business and much less about having fun. Which is good when you need to get stuff done, but not always what you want from an adventure.

“Nu uh, my dad was probably way cooler than your dad!”

“Well then there’s only one way to settle this.” His dad would probably be in the gravity room training. Its where he always seemed to be when he wasn’t out training with Wiess and Lord Beerus. He came out sometimes, but that’s usually where you could find him.

“Dad!!” He opened up the door, and stepped in, only to be immediately be slammed down by the gravity. But Trunks could handle it. It was nothing.

“Boy. Can’t you see I’m busy.” His dad grunted, probably doing his billionth and one one finger push up. He did look busy, but this was a matter of both their prides’ now, so it was important.

“Goten says that Goku was way cooler as a kid even though he couldn’t fly or go Super Saiyen or anything. Tell him how you were way better and kicked every butt you ever came across.” There was no way that a thing like this could stand, right?

“Yeah! And Trunks’ mom even went adventuring with him!” Trunks gestured at Goten’s bragging, because he loved his friend but this wasn’t something Trunks was about to let him win.

“Your mother also went adventuring with a pig, a bald child, and Yamcha. She has since developed into a woman of standards. I was also not on the planet at the time.” Naturally, since he was being Prince of all Saiyens before it became Prince of all three full Saiyans, four half Saiyans, and one quarter Saiyen. At least those were all the Saiyens he knew, and dad didn’t seem to do any like career work other than training.

“It was cause you were busy being a cool butt kicking prince in space, right?” Probably going to all sorts of tournaments on other planets and kicking butt, not just a dumb boring Earth tournament that even him and Goten could beat four years ago.

“Sure, whatever. Now leave before I have to remove you myself.” Dad asked nicely, so he’d hurry out of there. He was starting to feel like he’d turn into a pancake at any time anyways. The door shut behind him, and he felt like he was going to hit the ceiling. His dad did this all the time, how has he not hit the ceiling yet.

“Sounds like your dad was hiding something, probably that he’s jealous that he wasn’t as cool as my dad.” Goten bragged, with a smug punchable face.

“Shut up! We can just ask my mom. I’m sure he’s told her lots of stuff.” They were a lot more lovey dovey when no one was around. He had accidentally walked into the kitchen to see them talking all gentle and looking all gross and in love at each other. Who knew how much of that gushy stuff involved cool stuff like how cool he was in the past, and how even though he was really cool then, he was even cooler now.

They’d go fast, because Goten kept taunting him with his smug face. Trunks wasn’t about to lose to Goten, no matter how much he respected Goku and thought he was cool. This was about him and his dad not losing now, and the rivalry between his dad and Goku was starting to make a lot more sense. Because losing now might even be worse than dying, and not just because dying basically meant nothing anymore.

They’d fly right into the lab where he knew his mom would be. She was working on something when they got in there, but she’d stop and turn to them.

“What did I tell you boys about flying that fast in the house!” She scolded. She might not’ve been as scary as Goten’s mom, but still it must’ve felt as bad for him, because Goten basically lived here before Goku came back, so she was kinda like a second mom to him.

“But mom, it’s important.” Sometimes exceptions had to be made, and hopefully his mom would understand. His half Saiyan pride was on the line here. She dealt with his dad’s pride problems all the time, this should be just as important, right?

“Important how, is the Earth in danger? Is the Universe in danger? Who’s invading and do Goku and Vegeta know?” Important didn’t always mean catastrophic doom. Usually, but not always.

“No, I need to know if dad told you anything about his past. He’s not telling us anything and Goten can’t win the cooler dad past stories!” His feelings were important too. He was her son after all and his dad was too emotionally constipated to deal with even his own feelings.

His mom let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about something serious.” Like this wasn’t serious, he was gonna lose the cooler dad competition and his dad was her husband so like she was going to lose too. “Your father doesn’t like to talk about his past. Besides, it’s more important to focus on the now, and prepare for the future. That’s part of why your dad trains so hard. If he doesn’t, he could end up losing the most important parts of his life.” She tapped the tip of his nose to make a point.

“Mom! You’re embarrassing me!” Even though it barely counted in front of Goten, it still counted. Besides, Goten still could hold it over his head that he had dad past stories and Trunks didn’t. It was mean, but Goten was the closest thing Trunks had to a brother so he knew it was going to happen. He hadn’t even said anything yet, but he could see it on his face. That little jerk.

“Fine… Come on, Goten. Let’s go do something while the sun’s still out. There’s no way your mom’s gonna let you stay over after your last test.” It was still something to poke fun at him over. He still had one thing. They’d make sure that they’d fly out of the room slowly.

“You boys stay out of trouble.” His mom called after them.

“We will.” Trunks lied. She already knew better. She should already know they were going to get up to something. They were always going to get up to something.

“So what’re we gonna do?” Goten asked, naive to the genius plan that Trunks had in store. He pulled a little capsule out of his pocket and hit the button. It popped into the spare radar his mom had given him to look for when they went out to get the dragon balls for his mom’s birthday party.

“We’re gonna find out about my dad’s past.”


	2. Chapter 2

Gathering the dragon balls was about the same as always. You just flew around and got them no problem. They were stuck places sometimes, but that’s why there was two of them there. One to grab the ball, and the other to keep wherever it was stuck steady. It was easier than child’s play. It was amazing that there wasn’t a mass of people all after these all the time.

They’d set them all down in a valley a ways away from town. There was still a good chance that they’d get busted for this. But if they did this fast, they could still get away with this.. If they wasted time once Shenron was out there, they could have Goku and his dad on their case about what they were up to. And Trunks already knew that his dad would have none of this and there’d be hell to pay. So fast was the only option.

“Come forth, Shenron, and grant my wish!” As usual, the sky got all dark and cloudy, and it wasn’t long before Shenron was there and twisting around in the sky to fit in the area like a giant green funnel cake.

“What is your first wish?” Shenron boomed, in a way that might’ve been intimidating the first time, but he’s seen him so many times that he couldn’t intimidate him. They both knew that he could probably kick his scaly butt. Did dragons even have butts? He would save that for if they had a left over wish. There were probably way cooler things that they could think of before if dragons had butts or not.

“I want to know about my dad, Vegeta, ‘s past.” This should be an easy wish.

“I know little of your father’s past. However two other Saiyans also arrived on Earth around the same time he did. They perished nearly two decades ago.” Shenron can’t bring back people if they’ve been dead for over a year, but that Frieza guy was brought back and was dead since before Trunks was born. So maybe the dragon was trying to nudge them in that direction.

“Now what’re we going to do, Trunks?” Goten asked, not thinking outside the box quite like he should.

“I know what my wishes are going to be.” It was going to take all their wishes, but whatever. It wasn’t like they couldn’t just find all the dragon balls again. It’d take a lot of time, but it was a really easy task. “First, I want the two Saiyens you were talking about to have their bodies back to how they were when they were alive.”

It wasn’t a wish they saw get done, but they had no idea where they were so they couldn’t have gone and got them to see it. “Your first wish is granted.”

“Are you sure about all this, Trunks? We don’t even know what these guys are like.” Goten said, like this wasn’t the only chance Trunks was going to get to know anything about his dad’s past because no one else was going to tell him.

“Well if things go bad, we can just fuse and make Gotenks. We kick their ungrateful butts and send em back to hell.” Obviously. “For my second wish, I wish that both of those Saiyans were here.”

The bodies of the Saiyans were unceremoniously dropped in front of the dragon balls. He was so close to getting to know about his dad’s past, but he was just a little bit nervous about these guys. They were Saiyens like their dads, but they looked like they were bigger. “Your wish is granted.”

“Worst case scenario, we power up until our dad’s notice.” Goten gave him a nervous look, but nodded. Their dad’s were strong. Even if this did get him in trouble, it was better this way. He already died once before, and Trunks wasn’t sure what the rules were about bringing back people from the dead if they were wished back with a bunch of other people before. That usually wasn’t his job.

“For my final wish, I want these two brought back to life.” He swallowed nervously. He shouldn’t be nervous though. These were Saiyans, and probably knew his dad. They knew how much he kicked butt and probably would love to tell them all about how cool his dad was. This was going to be fine.

The formerly lifeless corpses sputtered to life, coughing up bits of dirt and rocks that had been in their mouths. “Your final wish, has been granted.” And as quickly as he was there, he was gone in a flash. The dragon balls all took off in different directions. It wouldn’t matter, because they weren’t any good now anyways.

“What the hell is going on?” The long haired one spat, probably still getting that dirt taste out of his mouth. He looked over to them, focusing on Goten. “Kakarot?? Why the hell do you look so young again?” He was getting to his feet.

“Who’s Kakarot?” Goten looked over to Trunks for answers. Right now it probably wasn’t as solid a bet as it usually was. Because this was all new territory for him. They were both playing in god’s domain now, but at this point who hadn’t. They should’ve brought Gohan or someone.

“Goten I think he thinks your Goku.” That’s what his dad called him anyways. He did kinda look like him too.

“How does he have another kid? Were you a coward and hid while you left the rest to fight?” That was a rude way to introduce himself.

“Dude, you’ve been dead for like twenty years.” Baldy was staring him down now. “And what’s your deal?”

“Nothing, kid.” He glanced over to Goten. “Least Kakarot had the right idea of settling down and having children. Even if they are half breeds, better than nothing. Vegeta’s not here to stop us this time.”

“How do you know my dad?” Both the long haired guy and baldy stared at him.

“I must’ve heard you wrong. You’re telling us, that you’re not only half Saiyan, but you’re also Vegeta “I don’t want to muddy my bloodline”, the Prince of All Saiyans son?” They looked at each other an laughed. He knew that power levels didn’t really mean much, because they could probably get way stronger when they went Super Saiyan, but at the same time, they didn’t seem that strong.

“Oh yeah? Well I can already go Super Saiyan.” It really wasn’t much of a brag, but he was a prodigy, probably like his father was at his age. Even if his dad had told him that he hadn’t reached Super Saiyan himself until he was an adult, and that Goku had done it first. The two other Saiyans scoffed.

“Super Saiyan? You’re at least a dreamer like him.” This bald clown said. Did he really not know? Effortlessly, he did what little powering up he needed to to go Super Saiyan.

“I can do it too!” Goten added, also going Super Saiyen as not to be shown up. Both Saiyans stared at them slack jawed. They tried to form words, but failed to. They could only manage to gesture at them, and look at each other.

“So do you believe me now?” Because this must’ve been a (pun intended) super unbelievable thing for them.

“If you’re both already so strong, why aren’t you out there getting planets for Lord Frieza?” Baldy asked.

“Why would I want to do that? My dad’s like way stronger than him.” A stupid question to ask. “Also I’m twelve. I’m not even old enough to fight for Earth yet.”

“My mom would kill me if I didn’t get my homework done. Also Frieza’s dead.” Those were both good points.

“Oh yeah he is dead.” He had almost forgotten about that. Wasn’t he supposed to be some big deal or whatever?

“Yeah my dad got him.”

“Only cause he killed him while my dad was fighting him. It’s cheating and you know it.” They were back to this again, and Trunks wasn’t about to let his dad lose. “Plus if we were there, we could’ve kicked his but for them and they wouldn’t have even had to worry.”

“Hold on a minute what? Lord Frieza is what?” Baldy asked while long haired guy stood there looking shocked and catching flies. Oh yeah, they were twenty years late.

“Oh yeah, Goku killed Frieza.” It was old news now. He wasn’t even like that hard for them to beat.

“I think dad did it twice, cause he did it once on Namak too.” That was showing off, and not fair.

“Lord Frieza, as in the most powerful being in this universe, and the one that destroyed our planet and treated us like little monkeys that went around and did his dirty work?” Long Haired guy asked. “And Kakarot, the guy that needed to hold onto me in order to get his Namakian pal to kill me, was the one that did it?”

“Are you sure dad had a hard time fighting you? You guys don’t have very high power levels.” They’d both get rid of their power up for now. It was more showing off.

“Yeah, Goku’s fought way tougher guys than Frieza.” Goku must’ve gotten way stronger like over night. What did that mean for them. “Hey Goten, if Goku had trouble with the long hair guy as a grown up, imagine how strong we’re gonna be by the time we’re adults.”

“We can still hear you. And we have names.” Long hair guy complained. Like he had given them his name or something. Also like they could do anything cause they could kick their butts on their own and there was two of them so like what was up.

“You can’t get mad at us for that, you never even gave us your names.” It was still up in the air if they were gonna use them.

“I’m Raditz, and he’s Nappa. We’re high ranking warriors in Frieza’s army. We’ve taken down entire planets by ourselves.” Raditz boasted, seeming to forget already that Frieza was a charcoal smear in a crater right now thanks to Goku.

“Can’t say I’m shocked that it wasn’t Vegeta that brought us back, but if you’re really his kid, then why do you have anything to do with bringing us back?” Nappa crouched down to their level, something that Trunks didn’t care for one bit. It wasn’t like he was that small, and he had a growth spurt coming. He saw how big his future self was, and he probably wasn’t going to have to use a dragon wish to make himself taller like his dad did.

“It’s simple. You guys probably know what my dad was like at least before he came to Earth, so I wanna know what my dad was like in the past. The farther back you can go the better. Goten can’t win the cooler dad game just because no one’s going to tell me about who my dad was before.” This was different from his mom, because these were Saiyans, and they understood pride. They probably knew his plight just as well as his dad did, except they didn’t know the wrath of his mom yet.

“I served the Saiyen Royal family for years, and was personally responsible for Vegeta’s training. He was absolutely ruthless as a kid. He’d take down Saibamen like it was nothing when he was not much older than you while it took your Earth friends a year of hard training as adults to even stand one.” This was a good opportunity for Trunks to send a smug look over to Goten. His dad was way stronger than Goku when they were little and now they both knew it.

“He was about your age when he started taking over weaker planets for Lord Frieza, we were both off on different planets when Planet Vegeta was destroyed.” Nappa was going through this like it was nothing but there were some pretty big things there that they were just blowing over.

“Wait my dad took over planets and worked for Frieza?” That was a pretty big thing, he couldn’t just ignore that. He couldn’t imagine his dad working for anyone. He had more pride than anyone he ever knew, there was absolutely no way. Especially not to some worm who had everyone else do the work for him like Frieza.

“He was one of the best at it, and if Frieza had more respect for Saiyens, your father would be one of his commanding officers and wouldn’t be forced to do grunt work like the rest of us.” It was a weird feeling, on one hand, his dad was the best at what he did, but on the other he was working for Frieza and getting planets. Goten’s dad’s adventures sounded way better.

“My dad would never work for someone like that, even as a kid. He’s way too strong and proud for something like that.” They must’ve been talking about someone else. “He’s the Prince of All Saiyens, and he wouldn’t take orders from a creep like that!”

“This is going to be a tough pill for you to swallow, kid, but your dad is an honorless bastard with an empty title. He’s killed allies once they stopped being useful to him.” Trunks couldn’t stand him talking about his dad like that any more. He punched him in the stomach and sent him flying back into and through the nearest tree.

“You take that back! My dad has more honor than you do in his pinky! He’d never kill an ally, and he’d fight hard to keep them safe if they couldn’t fight any more!” He’s help save the planet multiple times. Even Goku wouldn’t have been able to do it if he wasn’t there helping. Nappa laughed a weak, but rude laugh.

“Kid I don’t know if you know this, but your dad was the one that killed me. He couldn’t even give me a warrior’s death like Raditz got. After serving him his entire life, he killed me because I couldn’t fight. So when I say your father has no honor, I’m more than qualified to make that judgment call.” Nappa had to be lying. These were formerly Frieza’s men, so they must’ve had something planned. But he knew someone who wouldn’t lie about this, and would absolutely tell him the truth.

“Well why don’t we go and ask my father about all this.” He might’ve been hiding the truth, but so long as it didn’t involve emotions he could confront the truth no problem.

“Good, cause I’ve got some things to say to him.” Nappa couldn’t intimidate him, so he certainly couldn’t intimidate his father.

“And so do I, like why didn’t he care about bringing me back to life?” Raditz asked. He had forgotten he was even there. It didn’t really matter so long as Trunks got his answers first. Then they could do whatever they wanted with themselves so long as they stayed out of trouble.

“Good. I’ll lead the way. Goten, you make sure they don’t fly off. You guys can fly, right?” Trunks didn’t want to haul those guys all the way back to Capsule Corp. That was so far away to fly them and try not to drop them. They’d be big and hard to carry, and they already used their once back. Plus there was another year left on bringing them back anyways. Answers needed to happen now.

“I’m just glad you brats can fly. Wouldn’t want one of you getting dropped by Raditz cause you touched his tail. Saiyens are hard to come across these days and it’d be a shame to lose one, even half breeds like yourselves.” Nappa taunted his ally. This tail thing would be something that he’d ask his dad about. These guys might’ve been Saiyens, but right now he wasn’t sure if he could trust them not to lie about even little things like that.

“Good. Let’s go talk to dad about this.”


	3. Chapter 3

One of the things about Capsule Corp, was that at this point, Trunks could basically bring anyone in. His grandparents didn’t care, and it wasn’t like his dad interacted with anyone most of the time. Really only if they caused problems, and problems big enough that Trunks couldn’t handle on his own. His mom might be the biggest issue here. But they didn’t have to go through her right now. They’d deal with that later if they had to.

They’d land in the backyard, and head towards the pod where his dad was. Trunks knew for a fact that he was still in there. It hadn’t been that long, and even then he’d seen his dad train well into the night and still be in there when Trunks went to bed. You could tell he was in there because of the soft hum and shake from the machine that came from it being on and his dad being totally bad ass in there.

“Oh! Well if it isn’t my two handsome boys!” He heard his grandma call. Normally he loved seeing his grandma, because she usually had good snacks on her. If Whis and Lord Beerus found out about her they’d take her back to their planet for sure. She was definitely one of Earth’s best kept secrets. Unfortunately now wasn’t the best time for her to be there. They had things to do and couldn’t afford to get distracted. “And you’ve brought two more handsome boys”

The distraction was a little worth it, because the looks on their face were hilarious. Especially when she pinched their cheeks like they were kids too. He could see their pride being injured and it felt like they deserved it after what was said about his dad.

“Unhand me, woman!” Raditz raised his hand to strike her. Before Trunks could even react, Raditz was suddenly collapsed on the growl and yowling in pain. His dad loomed behind him to the best someone of his height could without flying. He was holding a fistful of tail, and this kinda made him glad they went through the trouble of cutting his tail off once every few months.

“I can see where Bulma gets her inability to size up an opponent.” His dad tossed the tail back onto Raditz, who wrapped his tail back around himself in flustered shame. “I see neither of you have used your time in the Other World to work on your abilities. And you also foolishly rushed back without a bit of training.”

“We have some matters to discuss, my Prince.” Nappa spat, not knowing just how much stronger his dad had gotten.

“Bold of you to think I care.” His dad stepped over Raditz and made his way to the house. His grandma clapped, and followed after him.

“Oh! I’ll go get you boys something to drink!” She chirped, ignoring the fact that a rumble of some sort was going to take place in her backyard. Maybe not the best time, but one day he wanted to care as little as she did about everything around her.

“Dad wait!” His dad stopped, but didn’t look back at him.

“Make it quick, boy. I have things to do.” He wasn’t going to look at him, but it was fine. Judging from his tone, he was pretty mad about all this. Trunks couldn’t let himself get intimidated, because he had to know the truth.

“Nappa said that you worked for Frieza, and that you took over tons of planets and were responsible for killing him.” And this was the part where you said that he was a liar, and that he knew nothing about you ever. Tell him those words.

“And?” In a single word, it felt like Trunks was getting blasted through the heart. There was no way that all that could be true.

“Tell me he’s lying! That he doesn’t know anything about you or your past! And that you’ve never worked for Frieza and weren’t responsible for Nappa’s death!” Maybe this was just a test. His dad save the world tons of time with everyone else. There was no way that he could be a bad guy. Trunks wouldn’t admit it, but tears were starting to sting at the corners of his eyes.

“No, Nappa was the one who was charged with raising me since I was a child. I was forced to work under Frieza until his long over due fall from grace was dealt with by Kakarot.” There was just no way. Everything he knew was a lie. His dad was supposed to be a hero, and a good guy. Good guys didn’t work for people like that, nor did they kill people who were like dad’s to them.

“I’ve practically raised you since you were a baby, so why the hell did you kill me back there, and leave me to die without honor.” Nappa interjected, pushing past Trunks, who was still absorbing all of this information that seemed to weigh on him like he had stepped into the gravity room again.

“The answer is simple. You were dying, and I figured you’d rather die at the hands of a noble, then of a low born Saiyan like Kakarot. It’d be like dying at the hands of Raditz.” His dad made a vague gesture back at Raditz who was back on his feet and ashamed of what had happened. “Granted, my views on Kakarot have since changed, but twenty years have passed.”

“So your view on me hasn’t changed?” Raditz more so accused than asked. His dad answered with a cold laugh.

“You’ve proven nothing to me yet. You’re still the weak coward that you were before you died. Out of the five of us here, you’re still the weakest. If you want me to be impressed, do more than be revived on a whim by my son and his friend.” Trunks would say something about the son comment, but right now his dad seemed more like some sort of beast than he did his dad. A cruel hearted monster like Frieza who killed on a whim and for his own amusement.

“How the hell would you think that me dying at your hands would be better than dying in battle like a warrior? I know I taught you about honor. It’s one of the most important Saiyan virtues. How dare you even call yourself the Prince of all Saiyans when you can’t even grasp the basics.” This got his dad to turn around. Nothing had changed about his expression than normal, but he felt like Frieza had, with that dark energy radiating off of him.

“If you think I am undeserving of my title, then you know damn well how to revoke my status. Kill me.” It was a challenge, but with the same twisted confidence that Frieza had from that little bit that they saw of him. Was this from all those years that he served under him?

Nappa snarled and charged towards him. Raditz also took up the challenge and flew over both Goten and Trunks to help his bald partner. Needless to say, both were flung into the ground with such force that they left trails of upturned dirt and grass behind them. It was quickly followed by them being literally kicked around the backyard, until they were back where they started. His dad was no more sweaty than when he had begun.

Normally he would cheer his dad on, but dread filled his chest as thoughts of what his dad was going to do to them now that he put them in their place. He had killed Nappa once before, so was this the part where he did it again? Nappa was basically his dad, and did this mean that one day that he’d kill his own dad too? Trunks was a lot like his dad after all. Well, if his dad weren’t as emotionally constipated as he was now.

But there was no blast, or finished move of any kind. He simply turned and continued on his way. Part of Trunks was relieved, because maybe his dad wasn’t a bad guy. There was still a lot of stuff, but this was a good thing that he did just now that was undeniable.

“What?! You not going to kill me this time, Vegeta?!” Nappa wheezed as he pulled his bloodied and beaten self up off the ground.

“Why would I have to do that? You’re not in the same league as me in the slightest. Though I will say this once, and only once. If you piss me off, I won’t hesitate to send you straight back to hell where you came from. And there will be no chance of you being brought back.” And then he disappeared into the house.

There was a heavy silence. Trunks knew the difference between a threat and a fact. What his dad said definitely felt like a fact. Nobody knew the definition of pissed off with his dad, because that was always kinda his neutral. He didn’t know how soon he was going to watch those two die, or if one messing up meant they both died, or what the situation was.

All Trunks knew was that with these guys it felt a lot different than someone like Evil Buu or Frieza. These guys weren’t even threats to anyone. He and Goten could take them out no problem. Pan might even be able to take them out no problem, and she was still a baby. It wasn’t like he’d have a reason to kill them.

His grandma soon came out to break the silence. “My! Seems like you boys have been doing quite the rough housing! Come on inside and we’ll get you all patched up.” Trunks could never be sure if his Grandma was bad at reading the room, or just didn’t care. Either way, it did seem that in the very least her heart was in the right place.

“I don’t need your pity, human.” Raditz boldly said for a crumbled pile of Saiyan.

“Oh nonsense, we have plenty of space for both of you.” She’d help Raditz up to his feet and grandmotherly force them into the door she came out of. Things were only going to get interesting from here, but at this point Trunks had already had enough.

“You keep an eye on things here for a bit, Goten. I think I forgot something back where we summoned Shenron.” That was a lie. He had thoughts to think and wanted to be alone. But he couldn’t just say things like that.

“Uh, okay.” Goten was more than a little shell shocked about all this, but he’d hurry in after the other Saiyans to make sure that nothing went wrong.

Trunks would take this opportunity to fly off and process all the stuff he learned today. Was his dad a bad person, or was he good? There was no way he could be both, so Trunks had to weigh some facts out.

Though he couldn’t help but think as he was flying about how this was exactly the kind of excuse his dad would give about something like this. Maybe he was more like his dad than he wanted to admit.

Too bad he wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing anymore.


	4. Chapter 4

A lot had happened since today began. His contest had definitely fallen by the wayside since a lot of information came out, and at this point Goten wasn’t even sure that he cared. There was no winner, because he was sure now that all Vegeta’s past was all drug up, that made them all losers. It certainly felt like they were losers anyway.

But something did come of this, and that was that there were two Saiyans here now. They were different from what Goten had come to know about Saiyans. Sure they were really fighty, but they really didn’t have very high power levels. His whole life he knew Saiyans were really strong, if not the strongest race in the Universe. Angels didn’t count because they came from outside of the universe, and Goten wasn’t sure where Lord Beerus even came from or if he was from this universe at all.

Grandma Briefs was working on patching the two up, and Goten was there as a helping hand. He couldn’t say he had a lot of experience bandaging up wounds, because a lot of times you didn’t want an eleven year old to fix your broken bones or burn wounds from ki blasts. But fortunately, he could bandage up all the big scrapes that they got from being thrown around like dolls by Vegeta.

“Hey Mr. Radish, how do you know my dad? He told me he spent his whole life on Earth, and my dad’s not exactly a good liar.” It was probably as good a time as any to ask, because it wasn’t like Mr. Radish was going to go anywhere soon. He was stubborn, but it wasn’t like he could go anywhere without being noticed.

“Although he is a spineless traitor who’d rather defend this planet of a race that’s not even his, Kakarot is my brother. It still pisses me off that my little brother and his namekian friend could manage to beat me when I was so close.” Mr. Radish weakly pounded the bed with his fist. “And I wouldn’t have had to try and kill him if he hadn’t turned traitor against his own kind.”

Now that was odd. Goten tilted his head to the side and looked at him funny.

“I thought that you both were mad at Vegeta because he killed Mr. Nappa, but wouldn’t it be the same thing for you to kill my dad? He’s your brother after all. And Mr. Nappa might not be Vegeta’s blood family, but he’s probably the closest thing he had to a dad, right?” Vegeta’s dad was a king, so he probably died when their planet got destroyed. He wondered how well Vegeta even got to know his dad.

“Its not even close to the sam., Vegeta was someone I thought was an ally, Kakarot was nothing more than a traitor.” Mr. Nappa explained.

“But when you see family, you see an ally, right?” At least when he saw his family that’s what he saw.

“You’re just a kid, how the hell can you possibly understand any of this.” Uncle Radish waved dismissively with the arm Goten was trying to bandage.

“Sometimes families just don’t get along, Goten.” Grandma Briefs cut in, finishing wrapping up Nappa’s torso. “Sometimes it takes a lot for these wounds to heal, and if they’re going to heal, it’s going to have to be something they both want.”

She never really struck Goten as a smart woman, but what she said at the very least sounded wise. He wanted to keep helping, but this was already a lost cause and he knew it. There was probably nothing he could do. “Oh! I could get dad over here. I can’t fix the problems between Mr. Nappa and Vegeta, but I bet I can for sure help with Uncle Radish and dad!” His dad was one of the nicest and most forgiving guys out there! There was no way that his dad wouldn’t try to work things out. He’s friends with Buu now, and Vegeta did lots of bad things in the past, and there’s no way that after all the time they’ve spent together and fused together that his dad didn’t already know.

“That’s assuming I even want to talk to Kakarot. He’s a traitor, and chose this useless rock over his own blood and kin.” This had to just be a big misunderstanding, Goten would sort this all out for him.

“You stay here, I’ll be right back!” He could phone home, but what were the odds that his dad was even home. Plus he’d have to wait for his mom to go all the way out to the field and get him, cause Gohan and Videl and Piccolo were probably out on errands and boring work at a university. It’d probably just be easier to fly there.

“Don’t you dare! I’ll fly right after you and kick your ass myself you little runt!” Uncle Radish threatened, probably forgetting that he was the second weakest person in the room. It was kinda nice to be the strongest person in the room now that he was thinking about it. That only ever happened at school. He’d still be nice to his weak uncle.

Reasonably, he should make his uncle rest. He probably had broken ribs and other broken bones that he shouldn’t be moving about with. But at the same time he had to ask himself if his uncle was really going to just stay there anyways. If what he had learned about his dad and Vegeta over the years had taught him anything, that was that the answer was no. He might as well have fun with it. It wasn’t really like his uncle liked him yet. Goten stuck out his tongue with a “mleh” and pulled down the skin under his eye.

It really got his uncle’s blood pumping as he yelled at him and lunged to catch him. Unfortunately for Uncle Radish, Goten was way faster than him and dodged easily. “Get back here you little punk!” He’d just take his uncle right to his dad. That seemed like the easiest way to deal with all of this.

“Raditz will you knock it off! Stop playing with the kid and get back to your bed. You’re being reckless and a pain in my ass.” Mr. Nappa scolded, though Uncle Radish didn’t seem to be listening since he continued to try and chase Goten around the room.

“Well, boys will be boys after all.” Grandma Briefs laughed as Goten took off out the window. Uncle Radish continued to fly after him.

At the speed they were going, they were going to be at his house in no time. Goten could still hear his uncle yelling after him as they flew, so that was a good sign that he was still following. Faintly he could hear Mr. Nappa yelling after Uncle Radish, but that was okay. It might not’ve been the best for him right now, but Mr. Nappa could come too. Maybe it could even put the idea in his head that maybe him and Vegeta can get along one day too once they see how well Uncle Radish and his dad got along.

When they got to the field, his dad was asleep on the tractor. It was something that happened sometimes, because the farmer’s life wasn’t for his dad. That posed a problem, because his dad was a heavy sleeper, and if he was asleep, then he brought these two out while they were injured for nothing. He needed to be smart about this.

“HEY DAD! IT’S LUNCH TIME!” Goten watched as his dad snorted awake and immediately jumped to his feet.

“What? Lunch? Where?” He looked around for him somewhere on the ground around the tractor before looking up to see him. “Hey Go-” His dad’s demeanor changed in an instant. This was a feeling that he had never felt from his dad before. He felt it from his mom a few times when they went to watch the World Martial Arts Tournament because Mr. Satan was giving them special seats to see it, and someone said something about him and Trunks when they were messing around between matches.

But now was not the time to wonder if they ever managed to dislodge that shoe from that man. Goten wasn’t sure if he had ever seen something like this before. His dad always was a little excited when he got to fight someone, even if the world was at stake. But this was hatred that Goten had never seen from his dad.

“Raditz.”

“Kakarot.” It was tense, and uncomfortable for at the very least Goten. Mr. Nappa seemed more annoyed about this.

“My name isn’t Kakarot. I’m Goku. Just like it was twenty years ago when I had to deal with you then.” His dad was usually okay with being called Kakarot. Vegeta called him that all the time. Why was it a problem now?

“Your birth name is Kakarot. It’s a proud Saiyan name. To forsake it is to forsake your heritage.” Goten didn’t see what the problem was. His dad was raised on Earth, so he didn’t really get the chance to learn about any of that stuff until Vegeta got there and started being their friend. “I see you’ve also gotten rid of your tail. Are you that desperate to be a human that you would mutilate yourself?”

“I don’t need a tail to be a Saiyan or to be strong. Now what are you doing here, and why are you chasing my son?” His dad was already floating up, standing between Goten and the other Saiyans.

“I brought them here, dad! I figured that this was the best way to get you both to talk! You’re way stronger than he is, so you don’t have to worry this time!”

“I’d say he still has to worry. He doesn’t have his little Namekian friend to help him this time. What are you going to do now, Kakarot? You’re only defense this time is a child. A half breed child at that.” They were really bold words from a man who already got his ribs kicked in once today.

“Gohan nearly beat you on his own when he was four. I don’t know what you’re even talking about, Raditz.” This got a snort from Mr. Nappa. Gohan had gotten so nerdy and dweeby, that he almost forgot that he was a strong fighter. Goten might need to step up his game if Gohan was already fighting at four years old. Goten was eleven and almost never got to fight in any of the fun fights. Or if he did it was never for long.

“You’re forgetting that I have Nappa on my side this time.” Uncle Radish boasted.

“I’m only going to step in if you can’t take him on on your own.” Uncle Radish gave a dismissing wave of his arm. He was starting to see this as a less than well thought out plan.

“How about a sparring session as brothers instead? Y’know, to try and patch things up?” That was what his dad and Vegeta did, right? Maybe not as brothers, but as team mates they probably did that.

“He is not my brother. He tortured Gohan, and was the reason I died for the first time.” These were all facts that no one told him about before.

“But Buu killed everyone on Earth, and Vegeta did a lot of bad things in the past too.” And they were both friends of the family, so Goten didn’t know what the difference was.

“Raditz claimed to be my brother before doing all that. I have no time or patience for people that claim to be family and then hurt the ones I love.” His dad said before punctuation his thought with pounding Raditz into the ground so hard he made a crater. “If I hear you have so much as touched a hair on anyone that I love, I will not hesitate to show you the wrath of a Super Saiyan God. There won’t even be a form for you to hold in Hell I will have destroyed you some completely. Am I clear.”

“Crystal.” A newly humbled Uncle Radish grumbled. Nappa picked up the crumpled mess that was now Uncle Radish.

“I wish you could not be an embarrassment for five damn minutes.” Mr. Nappa grumbled and rolled his eyes.

Goten went to lead them back, but was stopped by his father’s firm hand. “Goten. I don’t want you to talk to that man. He’s evil, and I don’t want him to influence you in any way.” It was rare that his dad was this serious. It was the kind of serious that he used when the world was in danger and he didn’t want him to fight whatever super strong fighter it was that time.

“Okay, dad.” Goten wasn’t sure if he entirely agreed with what his dad was saying this time, but it was best if he listened to his dad for now. He watched as the two slowly flew back off in the direction of Capsule Corp. Goten was going to hope they knew the way. If not, the hopefully someone would help them back.

“Now, why don’t you help your old man clean up this mess before your mom finds out. I’m sure if she knew she’d kick both our butts.”


	5. Chapter 5

He had showered, and was now heading down to the kitchen to find something to eat. Training that hard worked up an appetite, and there was fortunately never a shortage of food in their home. Hopefully while they were still adjusting to what was no doubt going to be their lives for the foreseeable future, their uninvited guests would understand the pecking order in that they got last pickings for food.

If not for the rule about showering being a requirement before stepping foot into the kitchen, he would have already been in here eating everything in his path. Bulma was lucky that her attitude, sheer audacity, and nerve were some of her more attractive qualities. The way she could use some of his strengths against him as a Saiyen made her all the more alluring. He would remain obedient to this rule so long as she kept that foul perfume out of both the house and off her body. It was a fair trade in his eyes.

An unfortunate apple was stuffed into his mouth to be devoured as he looked in the fridge for better food. There were containers of various meats prepared for exactly this reason. He could be a very patient man, but not when he was as starving as he was. Really anything in this fridge was fair game right now.

“Geez, it’s like watching a pig eat sometimes. Am I going to have to remind you to breathe between bites?” Bulma who came in while he was distracted in his feeding frenzy.

“Woman I know what I’m about. I know my limitations when it comes to food.” He scoffed between bites of steak that had been left in here for just such an occasion. This wasn’t the first time she had seen him eat like this. She should be used to this by now. She had been married to him for well over seven years and even before then they had a bastard son that they were raising together. Even before Vegeta was in the picture, she had traveled with both a pig and Kakarot, so this was just her being an ass.

“Well can you put down the food for a minute so I can talk to you. It’s important.” Important got his attention. Usually that meant something fun. Maybe if he got their soon enough, he wouldn’t have his opponent stolen by Kakarot. A fools dream, but he was living on Earth and feeling emotions with slightly more freedom now so he was sure he qualified.

“Where are they and how strong do they look?” Strong opponents were coming more and more often. They were usually a welcome difference from fighting Kakarot. Any chance he had to fight a different opponent was a chance to improve his style and pull ahead of his rival in terms of strength.

“Can you stop thinking about fighting for a second? Trunks is missing and I need you to go find him.” That was a lot less pressing than he had previously thought.

“Trunks is far stronger than I was a child. He might lack the sadistic streak to do the things I did, but I doubt that interferes with his ability of handling himself for a few hours.” Besides, even if he never considered consequences, Trunks was a smart kid. He would be fine.

“My mom said she saw him with two men that sounded exactly like Goku’s brother and that Saiyan that came with you when you first arrived, and now I don’t know where any of them are.” Annoying, but whatever.

“Even with both of them against him, Trunks is still far more powerful than either of them. I doubt he’d let himself be outsmarted by Nappa either.” Raditz was a dumbass and a coward, so there was nothing to really worry about there.

“My worry is more what if he’s found out about your past. Considering all the things you did and how you tried to conquer the planet for Frieza?” There were people that the boy knew tried to do the same that he still interacts with. It was such a dumb thing to worry about.

“He already has. He confronted me about it, and I told him flat out that Nappa was telling the truth.” His ambivalence to all this was broken when Bulma almost made him choke on the noodles he was eating with the blow she landed to the back of his head.

“Are you insane?! Why would you do that?! We both agreed that this was going to be kept a secret from him! You’re supposed to be his role model! At least try not to make his world crumble around him!” Bulma scolded, using his presently crouched over position to her advantage by looming over him.

“I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to keep our son, born of two geniuses, from finding a way around no one telling him about my past. Was I supposed to lie to him when he brought proof of my past? He was going to find out sooner or later, he’s as stubborn as you are.” He would stand back up to look her in the eyes. “It was a fools errand to try and keep him from finding out.”

Bulma didn’t like that answer, because she got right in his face. “Oh! So I’m a fool for worrying about our son’s feelings in regards to his father being an intergalactic genocider and goon to the universe’s cruelest and most sadistic criminal!”

“I’m sorry, when was the part I said I was a good person. Because I can’t seem to remember ever claiming anything close to that.” He had no solid defense against any of that. Vegeta had killed millions and he had done so since he was a child. He hadn’t done so in roughly twenty years, but that didn’t change the fact that he had done so. “And you also said that last part as if I had any choice in the matter. He conquered my planet and I as prince was given to him as tribute. Children don’t get much say in situations like that, in case you weren’t aware.”

“Do you think our son understands politics when it comes to conquering?! He’s a child!” This was the stubborn streak that ran right through their son as well. This was why there was no hope for this plan in the first place.

“I cannot change the past. And even if I could chances are I would be set on a completely different path and far from the warrior I am today.” The only reason he had come to Earth at all was because of Raditz coming after Kakarot who had failed his mission for Frieza. Besides, there stood a good chance that Kakarot wouldn’t have even been here to save them countless times, as he was also a goon.

“Don’t you be sweet at me right now! I’m mad that you being careless has upset our son and has sent him who knows where!”

“You were the one who le-”

“I don’t care! Go find and talk to him before I dowse your training room in that perfume you hate!” She was impossible to deal with. Vegeta knew that this was only because she lacked the ability to sense energy. He fortunately knew what was good for him, and didn’t mention that she could also learn how to fly and sense energy, so she could be the one to coddle their son herself.

“Fine! I’ll go talk to him.” He wasn’t pleased that he had lost this battle, but there were few battles that could be won against Bulma. If he weren’t so annoyed about having to find and talk to his son, he’d think that was very attractive of her.

Unfortunately, for now he’d have to fly off and find his brat son who learned the hard way that somethings you work hard for aren’t going to go your way, even if you really want them to. It was a hard lesson to learn, but since Trunks was his son, it was a lesson he was going to have to learn anyways.


	6. Chapter 6

He had been out there for at the very least an hour. There were just so many facts that he had to deal with and sort through, and a lot of them seemed to be more points against his dad than anything. But at the same time, his dad had always been the coolest, and the strongest person he knew for most of his life. He had saved the Earth, and had kept him save so many times.

But at the same time, there was so much blood on his hands. He had taken over planets for Frieza, someone that was known on an intergalactic level to be the worst person ever. And his dad worked for him no problem. Who knew how many people his dad had even killed, and even just people that were completely innocent, just cause he was ordered to do so.

It just didn’t make sense with who he knew his dad was. How could this monster also be the person he had looked up to all his life because he was strong, cool, smart, and his dad? This was still so much to wrap his brain around.

“Boy.” Trunks jumped when he heard his dad speak up. He was standing a few feet away from him, and Trunks was too wrapped up in his own thoughts to even notice that he was there. How long had he even been there for. “Your mother sent me here to talk to you.”

“So everyone knew about this? And no one was going to tell me that you did all those horrible things? Did you even feel bad for any of the things you did? For all the people you killed?” He needed answers. All his feelings about his dad rested on the answer to this.

“Not that I can recall, no.” So that was it. This whole time what he had seen as cool aloofness was just his dad being a heartless jerk. “After you kill enough people, you don’t feel anything anymore. It’s simply your job.”

“So you doing your job was killing millions of innocent people for your evil boss’s whims?” And he never even felt a little bad about it? He could understand killing bad guys like Frieza or Cell, but there were tons of innocent people on those planets probably.

“You do what you must to survive. Had I died, my ambitions to kill Frieza would have died along side me. You cast aside your hesitations and weakness and you don’t look back. It’s a lesson you learn fast when you work along someone like Frieza, or you die.” The words his dad said were harsh, but there was one part he held onto.

“So, did you join Frieza to kill him?” That would be cool if his dad had been a double agent that whole time. It wouldn’t erase the countless deaths at his hands, but it’d be something.

“I had no say in my joining of Frieza. He conquered Planet Vegeta, and as prince I was given as tribute. I was younger than you, and spent the rest of my time under him surviving only by my desire to see that bastard dead by my hands. All Saiyens shared a special hatred of him, he treated us worse than any of his other soldiers.” His dad was silent a moment, as Trunks watched the rage build in him, but then his fists relaxed. “But the past is the past. There’s nothing to be done about it, and there’s no point dwelling on it.”

Trunks probably made the right decision in not mentioning his feud with Goku that’s been going on since before Trunks was even born. But there was another thing that bothered him. “But why did you kill Nappa?”

“I am not a good person. I never was, nor will I be. But as I said before, he was dying and his options were to either die at the hands of a low blood traitor or a human. There was no way he was going to survive, so I killed him myself. I used his death as a tool to strike fear into their hearts. I succeeded, but lost the fight regardless.” It stung to hear his dad admit that he wasn’t a good person, and to hear how cold hearted his dad was of his own accord. Frieza couldn’t even be blamed for that. So was this just proof that his dad was evil this whole time?

“So how do I know you won’t do the same to any of us? Nappa raised you like you were his own, and you killed him like it was nothing!” His dad gave him a look that looked almost borderline disappointed in him. It was a look he had never seen before, and it weirdly hurt, even if he was unsure of what kind of person his dad was anymore.

“With how strong I am now, do you really think I would have to stoop so low as to need to use underhanded tactics like that in a fight like a coward? If I cannot win with honor, I do not deserve to win. Being a good person has nothing to do with wanting to change. Frieza isn’t a good person for putting in effort to train and get stronger for his next battle with Kakarot. And myself no longer needing cowardly tactics and instead putting in more effort to be stronger doesn’t make me any better a person. I am simply no longer a coward.” Trunks weirdly saw the way his dad continued to deny being a good person made him sound like someone trying to do better. Because the changes his dad made seemed like changes a person trying to be better would make.

“How does doing that not make you a good person?” Because there had to be a reason his dad didn’t see himself how everyone else seemed to.

“I don’t make changes for the good of anyone but myself. My actions are purely selfish, and I never claim that they have been any other way. Most of the people on this planet, I care little about whether they live or die. I care only about the people that have given me reason to care about them.” A vivid memory of his dad going into a blind rage after Lord Beerus slapped his mom came through his head. He had to wonder if maybe his mom was the reason that his dad had begun to change.

“So what kind of person does that make you then?”

“You’re old enough to decide what kind of person that makes me. I’m not going to coddle you like your mother and make your personal opinions for you.” That sounded like something the dad he knew and loved would say. “Though I will say that I would be a better person if I was able to tell you more about life as a Saiyan. Despite being the Prince, my knowledge is unfortunately second hand. I can however, say that as far as knowledge on what it truly means to be a Saiyan, Nappa would be able to tell you. If you brought him back, you might as well make use of him. He was old enough to truly live as a Saiyan before Frieza came along.”

This felt a lot like his dad encouraging him to talk to Nappa, without outright saying it. “Does that mean you’re going to apologize to him?” Because his dad did kill him in a dirty trick.

“An apology would mean nothing at this point. I’m allowing him to live in my home and eat my food. That’s enough of an apology.” Trunks wasn’t sure if that was true or not, but hopefully at some point they’d get to talking. Trunks would also bite his tongue in mentioning that it wasn’t his house, but Trunks’ mom’s house, but he was sure that she’d bring that up later. “Your mother is worried about you, so if you’re going to mope around with your thoughts, do it at home so this stops being my problem.”

That was the last thing his dad said before flying off. He wasn’t a good person, but he wasn’t a bad person either. One thing was certain, and that was that he was most certainly his dad.


	7. Chapter 7

He had done more than enough thinking on all this for one day. It might not’ve been the answer he wanted, but it was something he could live with. His dad wasn’t a good person, but he was getting better. That had to count for something, right?

Either way, he couldn’t just stay there. If he did, it’d only be a matter of time before his dad came back and made him. And if he had to do that, it’d only be trouble for Trunks. A lot of trouble, maybe ever more than almost getting killed by Frieza. But fear of dad wrath aside, there was stuff he wanted to learn about Saiyan stuff, and his dad had pointed him to Nappa, and he would still be at his house.

Getting home, Raditz had a lot more bandages than when he left him. Nappa still looked fine. “What happened to you?” Goten wasn’t there, so did he push all of Goten’s buttons then get his butt kicked because of it? Raditz hated Goku, and there were definitely somethings that Goten could be pushed too far on.

“Turns out Kakarot also got a lot stronger. Hard to imagine given that he’s a farmer now and is spending his time with his crops instead of training.” Raditz pouted. Who even picked fights with Goku?

“Didn’t you feel his ki before you got there? Even when he’s just hanging out you can feel him on the planet.” He paused. “You can also feel my dad’s ki anywhere on the planet. Maybe even stronger than Goku’s.”

“You can’t do that without a scouter. Don’t be ridiculous.” Raditz sneered. “Feeling someone’s ki from the other side of the planet.”

“Maybe you’re just not strong enough. Are you sure you’re a real Saiyan?” Trunks squinted before Raditz weakly flailed at him. It was almost sad, because it looked like Goku must’ve thought he was someone strong and got his butt kicked left and right.

“As a half Saiyan who’s never been to Planet Vegeta and has no tail, you have no business judging who is and who isn’t a Saiyan!” Raditz yelled before wheezing from the pain of his broken ribs. Oh yeah, he had a reason for coming here and talking to those guys. He’d fly over Raditz, and over to Nappa who was well enough to be sitting in a chair.

“Dad said that you’d be the person to ask about what it was like on Planet Vegeta because you’re so old.” That was basically what he said. He used a lot of words but you didn’t always need a bunch of words to get a point across. Wasn’t like he wasn’t strong enough to kick his butt even if Nappa did get mad.

“I suppose I could tell you about what it was like to be a Saiyan before Frieza.” Nappa looked almost amused. “What do you wanna start with?”

“What about what games kids played. I might be a little too old for childish games, but I bet it’d be something that Goten would like.” It’s what friends are for, really.

“Hm…” Nappa thought, doing his best to go back a hundred years to when he was a child and played those games. “Well, it’s not really a game that you and your little friend could play, but got your tail was always a fun game when I was a kid. You really got the advantage if you remembered to do your tail training.” Nappa snorted. “I guess its one you could still play with Raditz.”

“I’m right here, knock it off.”

“What do you do in it?” Because it just sounded like a baby game if you asked him. He wasn’t sure he played got your nose since he was a baby. This was just the Saiyan version of that.

“It’s simple. You grab your opponent’s tail as hard as you can until they beg you to stop.” Trunks made a face. That didn’t really sound like a lot of fun.

“Any other games?” Because there had to be something fun that Saiyans did.

“Well. There was Tuffle vs. Saiyan. Where you both fought each other with no holding back and who ever was left standing won.”

“Man, do all Saiyan games suck? Didn’t you guys have like video games or something before you got taken over?” Because Saiyans were supposed to be really cool and tough right? Did they get that tough cause all they did was all they did ever? Then what was these guys’ deal?

“What’s a video game? Do you watch people fight?” That was so sad and only some of the time correct.

“Oh man, I’m gonna blow your minds with this. Follow me to the living room.” He’d let Nappa carry Raditz because Trunks didn’t want to. He’d get it all set up while they both yelled at each other as they attempted team work with broken bones.

He’d start with the classic fighting game that him and Goten played. Those two didn’t even have to put in the hours and days and money to get all the characters, because Trunks was fortunately very very good at video games.

“I’ll do the first round so you can see what it’s about.” Naturally, they wouldn’t be as good as him. He might’ve been the best at this game.

“So what’s the point of this game?” Nappa asked, as he watched Trunks absolutely destroy everything the ai had to send his way.

“Well you just have to defeat the opponent before the time runs out. And if you get all the little orb things you can use a special move that’s really strong.” It was pretty simple, but it was really fun.

“Yeah, but what’s the point of it. This game has to have some ultimate goal that makes you stronger, right?”

“The goal is entertainment. It’s a game? Games don’t really have a point to them. They’re just fun.” Did they not just have fun? He thought it was just his dad that was broken. Turns out it was a Saiyan thing.

“But you don’t get stronger as a result? What do you gain?” Trunks was going to have to think outside the box on this one. If they played the game, they’d understand.

“How about I hook up my other controller, and then you and Raditz play a round against each other. I mean, if you’re not afraid of losing to Raditz.”

“Again! Right here!” Raditz was fun to poke fun of. It was hard to believe that he was Goku’s brother, they were just so different.

“Fine, just one round.” Nappa took the controller and looked kinda puzzled about the controls. He had that look on his face that his dad did when he didn’t understand something but refused to ask. This was going to be fun to watch. He’d pass the other controller to Raditz.

“All the fighters are basically the same. Some play differently but you never really know how you play in these games till you’ve gotten the basics, so it doesn’t matter who you pick.” It was kinda a lie. Some characters were way better than others, but it’d be so much more fun for him if he just let them do their thing on their own.

It was chaos for a solid five minutes as they fought. Trunks was hoping that he’d see one of them turn into a Super Saiyan as a result of this, but he knew how much of weenies they were, that he knew it wasn’t going to happen. But watching them out of the game was way more fun than watching them in the game.

And the outcome Trunks wanted so badly to happen, happened, and Raditz came out on top. Nappa looked furious. This was beautiful.

“One more match! Winner takes all!”

“You’re on!”

Them being here was going to be amazing.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a few weeks since the two Saiyans started living at his house. It had also been a few weeks since he was allowed to hang out with Goten at Capsule Corps. Turns out that Goku really didn’t like Raditz. Trunks was filled in about the whole trying to kill them all thing, but his dad had also tried to do that. And it wasn’t like he was a threat to anyone anymore, Raditz could get his butt kicked by probably anyone they knew.

“Whis is coming over to my house soon. I know cause my mom was getting a bunch of stuff ready for him and was stocking up on a bunch of noodle cups. That would be the perfect time to get them to talk.” The situation was different last time. Goten brought them over by having them chase him, so this was how they’d fix it.

“Are you sure? My dad said he hates him and I think my dad only hates one other person, and that’s Frieza. And I don’t think that means good things for Uncle Radish.” Goten didn’t seem happy about it, and who could blame him. The only person who seemed less happy about this was Trunks’ mom, who was still mad that they told him about his dad’s past.

“Well, we could always give it another shot. Because I think my dad and Nappa had a conversation the other day.” It was more acknowledging grunts towards each other, but that was basically a conversation with his dad.

“I mean we could. I could go drop the hint to my dad right now.” Goten looked a little bit more hopeful. This was only a strong maybe, but maybe this can be fixed a little.

“Great! I’ll meet you at my house!” In Trunks’ heart, he knew that there’d be trouble from Goten’s mom if she found out. She wouldn’t be happy about them letting Goku know about Whis being there and as a result, him leaving to go training for months and not work on the farm to make money like she’d want.

But he’d push the worry down for now, and fly off towards his house. If Trunks was going to make a guess on where Raditz was, he was either in the living room playing games, or in the yard either training with Nappa, or being forced to clean up the mess they made training in the yard by his mom. He figured he’d hear as he got closer, because training was loud, but them playing games was loud.

It was still funny to see a big Saiyan man like Raditz bent over and replanting flowers. Trunks would tell them they could find somewhere else to train that they could be more reckless, but at the same time this was way too funny to get him to stop. He was like a really buff suburban dad who had something to prove to the neighbors and too much free time. All he was missing was the outfit and Trunks was sure he could find him something that was really good.

But how funny he looked aside, Trunks had to talk to him, so he’d land right down next to him. He still wasn’t good at sensing ki, so it was fun to sneak up on him.

“Hey Raditz!” He jumped so good that he was now hovering in the air. Trunks had a reason to talk to him, but first he had to get the snickers out of himself because he was so easy to scare.

“What do you want, brat?” He was flustered about being scared like that, which made it even more funny.

“Just wanted to give you the heads up that Goku’s coming over. You two should talk things over so Goten can start coming over to my house again.” He made it seem like a request, but it was more a statement. Trunks was the one with the cooler games, and Goten was somehow after all the time he had spent with Trunks a good kid who listened to authority and had his hubris in check. So Goten wouldn’t just sneak off to Trunks house while Raditz was there. Because everyone knew Raditz was always there, because like every other Saiyan on Earth he didn’t have a job.

“I have nothing to say to Kakarot. Besides, he’s threatened me already so I’m keeping my distance.” Raditz went back to the dainty little flowers that he was planting.

“I don’t think you understand. You’re gonna talk to Goku, and you’re gonna smooth this out.” Trunks crossed his arms. Raditz looked at him and raised an eyebrow.

“And just how exactly do you think you’ll make me do that?” Raditiz said, forgetting who was holding all the cards.

“Well for starters, I could tell my mom that you’re causing problems, and that could land you in serious hot water. Or I could get Goten’s mom involved in this and then it’d be game over for both you and Goku.” Raditz snorted as he continued to work.

“Like I’m afraid of a couple of humans.” That poor naive fool. He didn’t even know what was coming.

“Well, my dad and Goku both are. So if you wanna get ‘em angry it’ll be your funeral I guess.” He was sure that he was bluffing about his mom. He hadn’t been with them this whole time, but Trunks already knew there was a reason he was out here gardening.

“Whatever. I’ll speak with Kakarot, but it’s my own decision. He’s proven to have become quite the warrior over the years. It might be to my advantage to try and get him on my side. Just like I tried to do in the first place.” Trunks wasn’t exactly sure how he did it the first time, because Goku hated him. That seemed like an almost impossible thing to do, and yet he had done it. It was still completely baffling.

As if on queue, Goku landed in the back yard. He seemed excited and was looking around frantically. He wasn’t going to be happy when they burst his bubble.

“So?! Where is he?! Where’s Whis?! I wanna do some training!” Goku bounced around like an excited child. Trunks could already see Goten behind him visibly sweating. They both knew that this was going to go sideways in a moment. He glanced over at Raditz, who also seemed to be nervous about all this. Little did he know he was probably going to be fine given that both Goten and Trunks were there. Probably.

“Uhhh… Kak- Goku. I wanted to talk to you.” It was like hearing his dad call Goku Goku instead of Kakarot. It was weird and Trunks wasn’t sure if he liked it. He also wasn’t sure how this was going to go, given that Raditz had yet to find the courage to even look at Goku. Goku’s face hardened as he looked at him. It was so weird to see Goku look so angry like that, yet there he was. Even if he’s against someone completely evil he’s at least excited for the fight.

“What do you want, Raditz. I thought I made myself clear last time.” The whole tone shift made Trunks really uneasy. He looked over to Goten who seemed to feel the same way. He was so glad he wasn’t alone in all this.

“I wanted to apologize for what I’ve done in the past. I’ve realized that despite my feelings of betrayal after my attempt to save you from the wrath of Frieza for failing your task was denied and my feelings that you had forsaken your race, that my actions were too harsh and unacceptable. I let my own anger get the better of me. I was cruel, and I was wrong.” The flower had been put down loosely in the soil, and Raditz had now moved to bow deeply towards Goku, with his forehead touching the dirt. “You don’t have to forgive me, but I wanted you to know I seen my actions as how they really were. I will try to be gentler in the future.”

A part of Trunks wondered how often Raditz was forced to grovel to Frieza, given that he was probably among the weakest Saiyans he had ever met. Vegeta fought really well as a kid, but Trunks had no way of comparing the two. He had not standard to hold Frieza goons too other than there’s a lot of them and he probably only saw a fraction of the forces since they were all scattered for years while Frieza was dead.

Goku stared down at him, and by Goku standards it was hard to tell what he was thinking. He didn’t look happy, but he didn’t look too upset either. “Fine. I’ll give you a second chance. But that’s all you’re getting. One strike and you’re going straight back to Hell.”

Both Trunks and Goten looked at each other with excitement, because this meant that they could go back to hanging out at his house. He couldn’t wait to show Goten the video game fights that went on in his house now. Raditz and Nappa were getting really good at that game. Their training was still kinda lame, but their video game fights got way more heated.

“But. You’re not allowed to see my granddaughter until Gohan gives you permission. You’ve wronged him just as much as you’ve wronged m. I might’ve accepted your apology, but I can’t make any promises that he will.” Trunks actually wasn’t sure, because Gohan was absolutely a push over now and has a soft heart, but if Goku hated Raditz, then who knew.

“Thank you, Goku. I won’t let this second chance go to waste.” Raditz seemed extra relieved. Probably because he wasn’t spiked like a volleyball into the Earth this time. Trunks couldn’t blame him. He’d be pretty happy about that too.

“Good. You better not.” Goku’s demeanor changed again as he started to look around again. “So is Whis here or not?”

Trunks and Goten looked at each other. One of them was going to have to tell him, and it was going to suck.


	9. Chapter 9

It was just one of those days where Trunks wanted to train with his dad. He knew that it was going to be tough, but sometimes you wanted to train and have it absolutely kick your butt. Those were the ones where you knew it did something and you got out of it way stronger. And if Trunks wanted to be a strong warrior like his dad, he was going to have to train like that sometimes.

He hadn’t really asked his dad yet, but if history had taught him anything, it was that it was probably fine. So long as his dad didn’t have to pull any punches, there wouldn’t be any problems. With him going out to train, it could be difficult to get a solid grip of his ever changing routine, but it was something Trunks could usually get within a week.

It was early in the morning. Trunks would’ve rather slept in, but with the noodle cup being stocked up, who knew when his dad’s next bout of training with Whis was going to be. It was a pain in the butt, but his dad said that it built discipline or something. It still sucked that this was the best way to get to train with his dad. It was easier than trying to figure out when feeding frenzies were going to take place and hop in before then. Plus this way he couldn’t get distracted doing other stuff.

The other bad part about getting up this early was being quiet. Knowing his mom, she probably only barely got to sleep. He had made the mistake of waking her once, it was not going to be one he made again. The house was huge, but footsteps felt too risky. He also didn’t want to turn on the lights. That also felt like a dangerous rookie move. He wished he could sense walls like ki, or how to make his own night vision goggles that didn’t suck, Trunks was going to stick to feeling the walls as he went along. He had done this enough times that he knew the way well enough anyways.

Someone flicked on the lights and grabbed him by the foot, and he almost yelled. He wasn’t expecting anyone to touch him, because he was supposed to be one of two people up. His dad wouldn’t risk him yelling and waking up Bulma. Because she’d kick his dad’s butt and tell Trunks to go back to bed. And that was something neither of them wanted.

“Hey Trunks. Where are you off to at this hour?” Nappa asked in a normal speaking voice. Trunks immediately had to put his hands over the giant bald man’s mouth and shush him. He should already know the wrath of his mom. She intimidated both him and Raditz into fixing the garden for her on multiple occasions. Trunks wasn’t going to risk getting in trouble because he didn’t understand the situation.

“Keep it down. You’re going to wake up my mom.” It was hard not to yell at him to scold him himself, but Trunks had self control sometimes. At least in situations like this where it benefited him he did.

“Of course she is, it’s late. So where are you off to?” Nappa asked, also dropping his voice, probably guessing the consequences. Trunks would float along the wall and flick the lights back off.

“I’m going to go train with my dad. He likes to get to the gravity room early.” Though it wasn’t really any of Nappa’s business. It wasn’t like he was his dad or anything. He couldn’t control where Trunks did and didn’t go.

“I’m coming with you. I want to see the training he’s doing now.” Trunks couldn’t see him, but he could see enough of his ki to get a general idea on where he was. So far it wasn’t looking good for him.

“I dunno if you’re strong enough.” He’s better than when he got there, but he was still a weinnie. Trunks could barely handle the gravity there, he couldn’t imagine what it’d do to Nappa.

“I don’t need a kid worrying about me. I’m coming with you.” Well, that was really his funeral then. Trunks wouldn’t be able to wish him back next time, so that would be his own problem.

“Whatever, you asked for it.” Who knew, maybe it’d be able to kick him into Super Saiyan. That’d be something to see. Trunks wondered if he’d grow hair or if it’d just be his mustache that turned yellow. Now that he was thinking about it, Trunks really wanted to see this happen, and this might’ve been the only way to do it.

They’d both follow the walls until they got outside. That was usually the part that was tricky, but he could smell his dad from where he was, so he’d make it work. Trunks kinda wished there was a moon, because his mom used to tell him stories about the moon and how the full moon was a serious pain. She never said why, but she said the full moon at least helped light up the world on dark nights like tonight. Maybe that’d be his next dragon wish.

“Boy, what are you and Nappa doing out here at this hour.” Like all questions his dad asked, it sounded more like a statement than a question. They both knew that once they were outside, they were basically in the clear as long as they weren’t yelling or something.

“I wanted to get some training in with you, and Nappa wanted to come too or whatever.” The lights of the pod lit up part of the yard as his father walked into it.

“Fine, whatever. Just know that I’m not setting it to beginner. I’m not pulling any punches for anyone.” His dad went straight for the control panel. He waited for the two of them to come in. Nappa stuck close to the walls. It was a pretty good spot to be if you were a beginner in Trunks opinion, because if he was firing ki blasts at training robots, it gave you more time to move. Trunks was more of a fan of being near the middle. Doing laps were easier, and it kept him close so his dad would notice him better and see how well he was doing.

But the first step of the Gravity Room, was getting used to the gravity. It was a fairly sudden thing. Like a really big blanket made of rocks was dropped on you and was crushing you. Step two was to get used to feeling like you were gonna get crushed like an empty can and/or fall through the floor. Step three was to start training.

Trunks’ dad was both really strong and used to this. He could skip step one and two instantly and get to training. Trunks was getting better. It still took him like a minute to get through each stage, but he didn’t even need to go Super Saiyan to do this anymore. He was tough just like his dad, and once he got going, it was almost like it was nothing.

Though part way through step two, he looked over at Nappa, who was already sweating. He was probably at a disadvantage given how big he was. He might’ve been strong, but how strong was he at one hundred and fifty times his own weight? By the looks of how steady he was looking on his feet, not as strong as he needed.

“Hey Nappa! Just go Super Saiyan! It makes the first few times easier!” Trunks yelled at him, but he wasn’t sure how much of it Nappa was actually hearing. Trunks knew exactly how hard it was to listen to anyone when you were trying not to fall over. His dad was trying to fix his form one time when he was in here, and Trunks might’ve been pushing himself a little too hard that day and missed every word he said.

“He knew what he was doing. Let him be.” His dad said, ignoring Nappa who looked like he was just going to collapse on the spot. Trunks wasn’t quite so sure, but his dad didn’t mess around in his room.

“Dad I’m not sure if he did. I just said I was gonna train with you, I didn’t tell him how you trained.” By now, Nappa was already losing the fight with gravity and was brought down to his knees.

“He knew I have gotten infinitely more powerful than he last saw me. He knew my training wasn’t something to be taken lightly.” Even with what his dad said, Trunks couldn’t help but feel bad about seeing the guy brought down entirely. So if his dad wasn’t going to help him, Trunks was going to do it himself.

Step three had only begun, but Trunks would start walking over to Nappa. Every footstep made him feel like a monster in a monster movie. The kind where a giant monster went stomping through the town and made every building in the area shake and crumble. Nothing was shaking when he moved, but with the effort it was taking for each step, it felt like he should be shaking the whole pod, if not neighborhood.

“V… Vegeta…” Nappa weakly pleaded, holding his arm out towards Vegeta. He looked so pitiful. Trunks felt bad for him. Maybe this was something that he’d have to go Super Saiyan to speed up the process.

But before he could even get there, Vegeta rolled his eyes and walked over with little effort, and took Nappa’s hand. For some reason, the bald Saiyan winces, before his dad tossed him over his shoulder, and carried him out of the pod. With about as much tenderness as his dad was known for, Nappa was tossed out of the pod. Trunks could hear him land in the grass with a soft thud.

“Keep an eye on him, boy. If he’s not back on his feet in five minutes, take him back to his room and get him a senzu bean.” His dad ordered, flicking the lights on the outside of the pod on, so that Trunks could see, before leaving him to deal with Nappa.

After that jolt upwards that always happened after flying out of the gravity room while it was still on, Trunks landed next to Nappa, sitting by him with his legs crossed.

“I… I don’t know why I did that… I should’ve learned from last time…” Nappa panted on the ground as he was starting to catch his breath again. “But he didn’t… I’m alive!”

Nappa let out a few celebratory laughs. The weak kind that you do when you cheat death. It was a weird point in his dad’s favor, but one that Trunks was going to take. He was definitely a changed man.

“But why… ? Why was I spared this time?” Nappa was probably musing this to himself, but Trunks felt like this was as good a point as any to chime in.

“Well, dad said that he was a stronger man now. One that didn’t need to rely on dirty tricks like using his teammate’s death as an intimidation tactic to win a fight. Plus we were also training, and not fighting anyone.” That was going off what his dad said anyways.

“So Vegeta’s gone soft in his old age.” A few chuckled escaped from him as he stared up at the sky. A weird thing for him to say, given he was upset about his dad killing him. “A lot more has changed since I died than I thought.”

With an old man grunt, Nappa got up. “You can get back to your training, kid. Looks like I’ve got catching up to do.”

“Get some rest first, stupid.” Geez, it was times like this where he was glad he was only half Saiyan. Full Saiyans seemed to be such pains in the butt sometimes.

“Alright, your highness, I’ll get right to that.” Nappa chuckled as he flew towards the house. Trunks waited for him to get in the house before going back into the gravity chamber.

He was going to forget about the highness comment. Being the prince of all half saiyans would just go to his head. Besides, he had training to get to. He’d have to get strong like his dad if he was even going to pretend he was a prince.


End file.
